KPL sides shine to reach tournament’s pre-quarters, but KCB survive scare from Olunga’s academy
By Charles.Thuku, March 6, 2023The gulf in standards between teams in Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League and those in the lower shelf was evident when Tusker posted the highest winning margin in the FKF/Mozzartbet Cup at the weekend in a 7-0 whitewash of Berlin FC at Kasarani Annex.
During a weekend in which the country’s top tier league had taken a back seat, all its participating teams were successful in the round of 32.
But that does not mean experienced sides had everything their way as KCB were forced to sweat it out at Gusii Stadium in Kisii before reaching the last sixteen in a labored 1-0 win over Michael Olunga Football Academy (MOFA).
AFC Leopards, too, had to apply all tricks in the book to prevail 2-0 over another Division 1 side Zetech Titans at Kasarani main Stadium with Cliff Nyakeya and Maxwell Oteino both on target.
Back to Kasarani Annex, it was literally a walk in the park for Tusker against the amateurish Berlin and it was a matter of when, not if, the KPL defending champions will start scoring a bagful of goals.
Tusker duly did and Stewart Omondi leading by example when cashed in on a porous opponents defence to drill a hat-trick with Shaphan Oyugi and Shami KIbwana among the other scorers of the day.
Ironically, Tusker has endured a spell of inconsistent performance in the 2022/2023 KPL and their resounding win over Berlin is bound to serve as inspiration for the team to successfully defend the domestic crown.
In Kisii, MOFA, a team bankrolled by Harambee Stars captain Micheal Olunga, gave a good account of itself but this did not stop KCB from breezing into the pre-quarter finals, thanks to Kennedy Owino’s strike.
Elsewhere at Ildamat Stadium in Kajiado, an anticipated goal-glut by Ulinzi Stars never came although the army side was able to dump hard fighting Kajiado FC 2-0 to advance in the competition.
The gritty Kajiado held onto their own before their defense cracked allowing Ulinzi to score twice through Harambee Stars trialists Boniface Muchiri and Enos Ochieng.
Another KPL side Bidco United needed penalties to overcome Lions FC at Kericho Green Stadium with two second-half goals sealing the fate of the spirited National Super League (NSL) outfit.
At the Mumias Complex, FKF NSL side Darajani Gogo edged Nyota 1-0 to clinch their round of 16 ticket as Luanda Villa suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of Murang’a Seal.
In a coastal Derby at Mwatate Stadium, hosts Mwatate United shared the spoils with Coastal Heroes in normal time but the former got the better of their rivals in post-match penalties, winning 4-2.
According to FKF Chief Executive Officer Barry Otieno, the final of the tournament will be held on June 24 with the winner earning the rights to represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup, besides getting a Sh 2 million prize money.
The first and second runners up will be entitled to Sh 1 Million and Sh750, 000 respectively with the fourth placed team being rewarded with Sh 500,000.
Otieno said they have a June 30 deadline to forward to CAF the name of Kenya’s representative in the second most lucrative event in the continent after the Champions League.